


Umpteenth Chance

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Black Eagles Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert, Black Eagles Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Canon-Typical Violence, Crushes, Dying Declaration of Love, Everyone shipped it, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, First Kiss, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Pining, Poisoning, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Felix falls in love and keeps wasting his chances to tell the object of his affections. Then he almost dies.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Kudos: 32
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme





	Umpteenth Chance

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** I'd love to see Character A just silently PINING for Character B for years maybe. They never confess because they're sure B will never return their feelings for whatever reason. Then one day, A is hit by a poison weapon in battle and are so badly hurt they're sure they're about to die. B cradles them in their lap and they make a feverish confession because why not? They're dead anyway. B begs them to live...and then A gets hit by Restore and Physic and whaddya know, they will make a full recovery!
> 
> Except now A has to live with the fact they just confessed everything to B.
> 
> Bonus: Turns out B felt exactly the same way all along. They get together and everyone else scolds them fondly for being oblivious Idiots In Love.

Against his better judgement, he'd fallen in love with Ashe Ubert at near-first sight.

They were in the same class, and Professor Hanneman liked to pair them for tasks. The professor often invited them to meals with her, or sing in the choir even though Felix hated to sing and Ashe insisted he wasn't any good.

Ashe ate up every drop of Faerghus's stupid knighthood culture because he sincerely believed in it, and even if Felix hated the culture he loved Ashe for sticking to his guns and not letting even a damaged asshole like him change his mind.

He tried being a grumpy asshole once, but all Ashe did was smile warmly and tell him to read a book he already knew inside and out because Glenn read it to him at least once a week when he was a kid. When he found Ashe moping over Lord Lonato, he'd wanted nothing more than to hug him but instead settled for being _honest_ for once. Telling him what he needed to hear but gently, and the smile on Ashe's face was worth it.

When Ashe transferred to the Black Eagles to spend more time with that Bergliez kid, Felix transferred the very next day. Officially, it was because the professor wielded the Sword of the Creator and someone like him should be learning from the best. Secretly, it was because he was jealous and afraid Ashe might fall in love with one of his new classmates.

This wasn't enough to make him actually _do_ something about it, though. Felix Hugo Fraldarius was terrible at feelings, everyone knew it, why bother trying? Besides, what if Ashe rejected him? They were friends, but maybe emotionally stunted assholes weren't his type.

He came close, at the ball just before everything officially went to hell. Ashe insisted they share a dance, just once.

"I thought you _couldn't_ dance," Felix snorted. Ashe shrugged.

"I probably can't, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try, right? And, well...Ingrid says you're a good dancer, so...maybe if I'm really bad you can help me?" Was he blushing? Felix glared over his shoulder, where Ingrid was dancing with Mercedes and actually looked like she was enjoying herself.

"Fine, but just this once." He let Ashe drag him onto the dance floor, and just his luck it was a slow melody. Romantic, even.

Ashe's hand was warm, and so was his body. His head just barely grazed Felix's chin, they fit so well together, and Ashe _could_ dance. At least, he was better than he claimed to be. It was probably as close to a perfect moment as Felix would ever have, and hours later he couldn't stop kicking himself for not confessing right then and there.

He fell asleep with Ashe's warmth still soaking into him, deciding he'd have another chance later on.

Five years passed between Emperor Edelgard's declaration of war on the Church the the formation of the Black Eagle Strike Force. While Ingrid and Sylvain and Annette fussed a bit about betraying the Kingdom, Ashe was still angry enough at the Church for their role in Lord Lonato's death not to regret a thing. And Felix was just happy enough that the path of chivalry, knighthood, and destiny were forever closed to him. Finally, he could be what _he_ wanted to instead of modeling his life after his father's.

Along the way, more chances came to confess, but Felix still kept quiet. He'd wait till the professor came back, until they dealt with the Kingdom, until after the war, until things settled down.

One day during a battle, all those chances slipped away in the blink of an eye. He was barely aware of the poison-tipped arrow hitting his shoulder, just a slight sting of pain. Then the shock of numbness, the nausea, his limbs turning to lead and the ground rushing up to meet him.

" _FELIX!_ " It never came; one minute he was falling and the next he was cradled in Ashe's lap, his dying nerves barely able to make out the dampness of tears against his forehead. "Felix, no, please..." His vision was going dark, this was it, there would be no more chances.

"Ashe," he gasped, "Ashe, I love you, I've loved you since we met. I'm sorry...sorry it took me so long to-" He coughed violently. "Please, be happy...I lov..."

"Felix, _no,_ you _can't_ -" Ashe was sobbing now, and Felix felt even worse. "Please don't leave me, you can't, you have to _live!_ " But Glenn's face peered at him through a veil of shadow, he felt his heart slowing down little by little, _brother, brother, it looks like I'll be-_

" _Restore!_ "

The shadows dropped away as an oddly soothing burn coursed through his body, followed by a burst of white light. Felix coughed, the feeling returned to his arms and legs, he could see again. From the corner of his eye he saw Linhardt sink down onto a nearby fortress with a yawn, and Mercedes rushing over to him and Ashe.

"That was close!" she cried. "Oh, Felix, you need to be more careful, we thought we'd lost you!" She sounded just like Ingrid the time Sylvain fell in the lake and hit his head and almost drowned; Felix himself had been seven years old at the time and cried his head off at the thought of Sylvain never waking up again.

Now he knew how Ingrid felt every time one of them had risked their lives trying to be tough or heroic or just out of plain stupidity. He opened his mouth to apologize before he remembered he was still in Ashe's arms, and before he could say anything Ashe was hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe.

And Felix realized that just moments ago, _he had confessed his undying love to Ashe Ubert._ He'd confessed, Ashe knew, probably the whole battlefield knew by now. There was no taking it back, either, what kind of a dick move would that be? _No, Felix, you have to live with your stupidity._

He threw himself back into the battle as soon as Ashe let him go. This time, thankfully, no one landed a hit on him, and through battle he could forget about his embarrassment. Afterwards, he'd hit the training grounds and beat up the practice dummies until his mind was clear of the incident.

Or at least, that was the plan. Back at the monastery, Ashe stopped him just outside the front door and took his hand.

"I love you too, Felix." Felix's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened, and before he could respond Ashe was kissing him. _Ashe Ubert was kissing him_ and for a second Felix thought maybe he'd actually fallen into a coma from the posion and this was a dream. Not that that stopped him from kissing back, because he'd only been dreaming of this moment for _five years_ and he'd be an _idiot_ not to go for it.

"How long?" he asked after they finally broke for air.

"Since that day in the cathedral. That day I knew for sure I was right, that you're a good person even if you don't always act like one," Ashe said. "That night at the ball, I really wanted to tell you, but I was too nervous. I mean, you've never seemed interested in romance."

"Ashe, if you'd told me that night, I'd be...okay, I'd probably look at you like you were crazy and make it awkward for the next few days," Felix admitted. "But it still would've been the best night of my life. I thought I _wasn't_ interested in romance until I met you." Ashe turned pink, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing.

"Really? I'm that special?"

"You are to me." Felix leaned down to kiss him again. This time when they came up, the air was filled with the sounds of applause and cheering and Felix realized they had an audience. His cheeks burned and he glared at Sylvain and Ingrid.

"We've been waiting here since you two stopped outside," Ingrid said. "It's about time, you idiots!"

"Seriously, _everyone_ thought the ball would've been the night," Sylvain added. "Balthus was ready to start accepting bets!" Ashe turned even pinker, and Felix wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders.

"If I wasn't so damn happy right now I'd cut you all down where you stood." Well, maybe not cut them down, but definitely chase them with his sword and make them _think_ he was going to kill them. "So how long-never mind, I don't want to know."

"I don't know what to think," Ashe murmured. "I mean, it's _weird_ that everyone cared this much about it...was I that obvious?"

"Ashe, you'd sparkle and blush every time the professor assigned you and Felix the same tasks," Lady Edelgard of all people said. "And Felix transferred to the Black Eagles just for you, I can't believe you didn't pick up on it sooner." Ashe glanced between her and Felix with a mix of flattery and embarrassment.

"I'm not that smart when it comes to this stuff, I guess. I didn't think someone like Felix could..."

"And I didn't think Ashe could ever..."

Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"Felix, your stupidity is contagious and you passed it on to Ashe," she said. "At least you finally got over yourselves. Who knew all it took was a poisoned arrow?" Her face hardened. "But seriously, Felix, don't ever scare us like that again or I'll make you eat a five-pound bag of sugar."

"Make that ten pounds," Ashe added, and Felix's annoyance melted away. Ashe was someone it was hard to get annoyed at or even maintain your annoyance around. He wrapped both arms around Ashe and held him close.

"I'll be more careful from now on, I promise," he said.

"Thank you."

"Get a room!" Sylvain crowed. Felix rolled his eyes, leading Ashe away from the crowd, towards the first-floor dorms.

"Meet me in the courtyard tonight, okay? After everyone's gone to their own rooms," he said. Ashe nodded, and they shared one more quick kiss before Ashe went to the kitchen to help make dinner and Felix to the greenhouse.

Right now, training was the last thing from his mind and the violets were coming into bloom.


End file.
